Most non-professional cleaning is performed by hand, using a cleaning agent (such as a shampoo or a solvent) and some sort of hand held apparatus for applying, working and lifting the cleaning agent. For example, floors, walls, vinyl wallcoverings, upholstered furniture, shower walls and tile, car interiors, etc. are all typically cleaned by hand, as is spot cleaning of carpet stains. Even in professional cleaning applications, hand cleaning methods are used to supplement machine cleaning methods. For example, a carpeted room may be cleaned by any number of professional cleaning devices designed to clean large areas of carpet in minimal time. But even with the use of such cleaning devices, it is usually necessary to clean the awkward areas, such as around the carpet edges or on stairs, by hand.
When cleaning surfaces by hand, it is necessary to apply the cleaning agent to the hand held cleaning apparatus, and to then use the hand held apparatus to apply the cleaning agent to he surface to be cleaned. The hand held apparatus is then used to work the cleaning agent into the surface in order to loosen the dirt or stain therefrom, such as by agitating the hand held apparatus on the surface in the area to be cleaned. This mechanical force acts in conjunction with the chemical action of the cleaning agent to loosen and break the bond between the stain and the surface. Finally, the hand held apparatus is used to lift the loosened dirt as well as the excess cleaning agent from the surface, leaving the surface relatively clean.
There are basically two types of hand held apparatus known in the prior art for hand cleaning: cloths (including sponges) and brushes. Cloths have the advantage that they are absorbant. Because they are capable of absorbing and holding a relatively large quantity of liquid and liquid-born dirt, cloths are well-suited to both applying the cleaning agent to the stain and to lifting the loosened dirt and excess cleaning agent from the surface. However, because of the soft and pliable nature of such cloths, they are relatively inefficient agitating devices for use in working the cleaning agent into the stain.
Brushes, on the other hand, contain many stiff bristles which are very effective at transmitting mechanical forces produced by movement of the user's hand to the surface to be cleaned. This efficient transmission of agitating forces to the stain makes brushes ideal for loosening stains from the surface to be cleaned. However, because of the stiff and straight nature of such brush bristles, they are not very absorbant and therefore relatively inefficient for applying the cleaning agent to the surface or lifting it therefrom.
These different characteristics of cloths and brushes mean that neither of them display all of the desired characteristics of a hand held cleaning apparatus, namely absorbancy and the ability to efficiently transmit mechanical agitation forces to the stain. There is therefore a need in the prior art for a hand held cleaning apparatus which is both absorbant and which will efficiently transmit agitation forces to the stain. The present invention is directed toward meeting this need.